Scouring device



Oct. 11, 1927.

N. l. STARK SCQURING DEVICE Filed 001;. 2 1926 v Patented Qct. 11, 1927.

* UNITED STATES NATI-IAN I. STARK, 01E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SCOURING DEVICE.

Application filed October 2, 1926. Serial No. 139,162.

This invention relates to scouring implements, and more particularly to implements of the class used for cleaning kitchen utensils. The device, however, is not restricted in its use and may be employed to advantage in many arts where a scouring operation is required.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a scouring implement which in general is of simpler construction and more durable than devices of like nature previously developed.

A more specific object is to provide a holder for steel wool and the like having novel and improved means for attaching and retaining said wool on the holder.

1 A further object is to provide, by novel means involving no positive mechanical connection, for retentionof the steel wool or other scouring medium against the working face of the holder, this provision permitting the use of small bodies of wool for scouring and thereby effecting a material saving of the scouring-medium as hereinafter more fully described.

In general, the invention contemplates the provision of an all-wood holder for steel wool or the like; the elimination of special or non-integral retaining means for the wool; and means providing for the adherence of small bodies of the scouring medium to the holder with the novel result that the entire mass of said medium maybe utilized.

In the attached drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a preferred form of holder embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the holder with a scouring body of steel wool attached, and

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the holder.

lVith reference to the drawings, my de vice, in one form, comprises a suitably shaped body member having a part 1 constituting a handle or grip and terminating at one end in a surface 2 which may be termed the working face. Obviously, the general shape of this member may vary widely and will depend largely upon the nature of the work for which it is intended. Obviously, also, the shape and contour of the working face may vary; but for general purposes, this may consist of a flat surface of any suitable outline substantially free from irregularities.

In previous devices intended for the same purpose, it has been customary to secure the steel wool or other scouring medium to the holder by means of special fastening means involving detachable or semi-detachable parts, usually of metal., I have discovered that by properlyre'cessing the holder, as hereinafter dSCllb6Cl,',&I1Cl by forcibly pressing the edges or portions of apad of steel wool or the-like into said recesses, the said pad can be maintained in place on the holder without other securing means. y I have further discovered thatby forming the working face with a; higher coefiicient of friction than that of the surface which is to be scoured, there is a tendency for the steel wool to adhere to the surface of the holder, and that under these circumstances the holder may be used to pass the steel wool over a surface with. noother se=uring means than the-frictional contact between the wool and the Working face of the holder. Also the high coefficient-of friction overcomes any. tendency of the wool to, pullout of the groove during the'scouring operation and prevents the strands of wool from shattering unduly by holding it firmly in position. The use of wood or similar relatively soft and non-metallic material for the holder accomplishes this desirable result.

In a preferred embodiment of my invention, and as shown in the drawings, the working face 2 is round, and the side of the device adjacent the working face is formed with a continuous recess 3 extending com pletely around the body of the device and with the center line of its mouth in a plane substantially paralleling the plane of the working face. The body of the device is so formed that the upper edge 4 of the recess lies inwardly of the edge of the working face 2, the latter projecting outwardly appreciably beyond that part of the body immediately above the recess, as clearly illustrated. The recess for the purposes of the present invention must be of considerable depth and comparatively narrow, and I have found that a recess wide and substantially 4;" deep is suitable.

In attaching a scouring pad of steel wool to this holder, it is only necessary to lay the pad across the working face 2 and press the edges thereof firmly into the recess 3, as shown in Fig. 2. This may conveniently be done with the edge of a knife or any blade-like implement. Preferably, the entire peripheral edge of the pad is entered in the recess, and when applied as describec and with'a recess of proper proportions, the inserted portions remain firmly in place and offer considerable resistance to, retraction,

Considerable importance is attached to'the fact that the working face is of greater diameter and therefore extends outwardly beyond the immediately adjacent partof the holder. WVith this arrangement, there is no tendency for the holder'- itself to come in contact with the vessel or article beingcsecured, even after the steel wool at the sides has been worn thin. The device may be freely manipulated over different surfaces with relatively slight danger of marring the surfaces by contact with the holder body. Also, as shown in the drawings, the working face 2 is preferably slightly rounded out or convened to more nearly conform to the curved surfaces of kitchen utensils.

In previously developed devices of this character, there has been an unavoidable waste of steel wool or other scouring medium by reason of the inability of the device to utilize all parts of each particular massor pad of the wool attached to the holder. Byso forming the working face 2 of my device that the friction between the steel wool or other scouring medium and itself'will be greater than the friction between the wool and the surface to be secured, I am able to utilize all parts of the pad down to the smallest remnants, since under these circumstances there will be a tendency for the wool to adhere to the working face of the holder in preference to the surface which is scoured,

As a general rule, it is undesirable to employ metal in a device of this character, and I have found wood to be well suited to the purpose both for reasons of its desirable frictional characteristics previously set forth and also becauseof the cheapness andrcomparative simplicity of manufacture. Accordingly in its preferred form I make the holder of an integral body of wood, the frictional advantages being present in the holding recess as well as 'at the working face. The device, however, need not be of integral construction, and in some forms a non-integralconstruction may be found de sirable. The inventiomhowever, is not limited to the use of wood, since. other materials, and particularly rubber or rubber compositions, may be 'used to advantage.

I'claimf i A holder for steel wool comprising a handle-grip terminating in a working face andhaving in its side adjacentsaid face a continuous encircling recess of a width and depth adapted to receive the compacted periphery of a steelv wool pad'for frictionally retaining the pad in position overlying said workingface. a 1

NATHAN I. STARK. 

